Arastradero Preserve, located just outside of Palo Alto, CA has just fitted it’s parking lot information center and restrooms with photovoltaic solar panels and solar water heaters provided by Uni-Solar. The park, open from 8am to sunset, has undergone several improvements over the past two years with new trails being open and the addition of a discovery center with information about indigenous animals and plants. With the addition of the PV solar panels now in place along the roof of the discovery center, lighting and other electrical appliances will be powered by the sun. Additionally, several very nice restrooms have also been fitted with solar panels designed to heat the running water for the sinks in each restroom. These upgrades will significantly reduce the power needed to run the park and have caught the interest of local students and children who are excited about solar energy and enjoy exploring the trails by foot, mountain bike, or horseback!
Other parks around the nation have also begun adding solar power generation to their restrooms and visitor centers. While very few are as elaborate as those found at the Arastradero Preserve, they all have a similar impact on visitors who care about environmental sustainability. The image below shows a simple restroom building at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado which uses two small solar panels to run lights and fans in the restrooms located near the Fern Lake to Cub Lake trail head.
